Twisted Reality: Summer Daze
by Lady Silence
Summary: Crossover with the Pretender. Jarod spend time in Sunnydale for research on the scrolls.. & finds something else entirely. But that's nothing new when dealing with the Scooby Gang.
1. Prologue

TITLE: Summer Daze  
  
AUTHOR: Silence  
  
DISCLAIMER: Joss, Fox, UPN and whoever, own all things Buffy. TNT and them own The Pretender. *Sigh* I wish I did, but I don't. Everyone else is owned by the rightful owners and what not. Kay?  
  
SPOILERS: I'll just say everything for both shows. Nothing is safe.  
  
FEEDBACK: Please? PLEASE!!! I NEED it.  
  
SUMMARY: It's a um. crossover between Buffy & The Pretender  
  
DEDICATION/BLAME: TNT for showing yummy Jarod so much. Even if they do skip eps. Bastards. And Jai. Cause he's god of B/X. So ha. And he likes The Pretender. Yup. And for Jen the pirate captain. She's just so keen. She did after all invent Clarice. You can't get cooler then that!  
  
AUTHORS NOTES: This takes place some where after Island of the Haunted of The Pretender. In Buffy.. it's after the season 6 finale.  
  
Buffy Notes: Willow is a safe house Giles located for her, dealing with everything she's done and her new lack of magic. Tara is dead.. Anya left town with her new demony ways and sold her half of the shop to some guy.. Dawn is spending time with her dad. Spike is.. somewhere. The only Scooby gang members definitely in this are Buffy & Xander. Of which, Buffy managed to get into the summer semester of UC Sunnydale and Xander is still doing construction. Kay?  
  
Pretender Notes: I'm placing Jarod's age around.. 40 in this. Just.. bear with me on that half.. I'm not fully in synch with my Pretender writing skills yet.  
  
Extra: Yes, the person who now owns The Magic Box is who you probably think. No He is NOT going to be a focus in the story. He is just in here for sheer fun. For now.  
  
_____________  
  
PROLOGUE  
  
8:57 AM June 7 The Centre, Blue Cove, Delaware  
  
A distinguished looking older man, his hair graying, sat at his desk looking over a small homemade fathers day card.  
  
"Sydney."  
  
Sydney looked up and slid the card into a box and locked it tight before placing it in his desk drawer. He looked up to see Broots walking toward him, an anxious look on his face.  
  
Broots was a thin fellow, with a slightly 'geeky' style. He was probably around his late thirties or early forties. He stopped at Sydney's desk and placed a plain manila folder on it.  
  
"I was looking for something on those scrolls for Miss Parker.." He started to say.  
  
"Did you find anything?" Sydney asked him.  
  
Broots tapped the folder. "Nothing on that, and I'm telling you I was digging deep. There are things in there I never knew existed hidden in there. But I managed to find this." He looked around worriedly. "This is big, Sydney."  
  
Sydney pulled the folder close and opened it. As he read the copied file inside, his eyes went wide. "Do you know what this means?"  
  
Broots opened his mouth to speak, but was rudely interrupted.  
  
"What does what mean?"  
  
Miss Parker had entered the room without either of the men noticing. She was tall, with dark hair that reached her shoulders. She wore a smart business suit, the skirt a dark brown and made of leather. She was beautiful, but it was a cold kind of beauty. She arched an eyebrow as she walked over to them, her arms folded across her chest.  
  
She snapped the folder out of Sydney's hands. "Broots I thought I told you to find me something USEFUL."  
  
Broots glanced at Sydney with a nervous look before he spoke. "You did. And I was. But I haven't found anything. But I found this and-"  
  
Parker's eyes went wide as she studied the file. "Son of a bitch."  
  
_______  
  
3:24 PM June 7 UC Sunnydale, Sunnydale, CA  
  
Professor Jarod Taylor, supposed mythology expert, sat at his desk idly flipping through papers. Good looking, with longish dark hair and brown eyes, he was one of the main reasons the female populace took his class for the summer semester. The other half being there for actual learning reasons..  
  
His laptop sat beside a turned over Pez dispenser with a penguin head, the stars on the screensaver floating around randomly. Just as Jarod reached for the Pez, there was a knock on the door. He looked up to see a petite blonde standing in the doorframe. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and she wore a simple pair of jeans and a sheer green blouse over a black tank top.  
  
Jarod smiled at her. "Miss Summers. Nice of you to finally show up."  
  
Buffy walked over and sat at a desk in the front row, a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry. I had to take my sister to the airport."  
  
"It's alright. I wanted to go over this paper you did on prophecies." Jarod said. "You mentioned how many prove to be true, but not in the ways most people decipher them."  
  
"Well, yeah, I did. It's true." Buffy said nervously. Stray thoughts of wishing she hadn't gotten into this semester flew through her mind as she prepared for her verbal downfall.  
  
Jarod glanced at her curiously, "You never explained HOW you came to that conclusion." He tapped the paper on the desk, "It's well written, you make good points, but there's no fact. No proof."  
  
Buffy blinked. "No.. proof?" She bit her lip nervously, then came to a realization, "Wait a minute, you told us the paper was to be.. um.. as if we had nothing to work with. Like we were just guessing or something."  
  
"I did," Jarod smiled at her and Buffy suddenly felt at ease, "I guess I just wanted to see some more. You had enough arguments to make me want to believe you on sheer willpower."  
  
Buffy grinned. "Well, when you're around me, then the impossible is possible." She frowned as she looked at the clock. "Oh no!"  
  
"Is there something wrong?" He asked her as she jumped out of her seat.  
  
She shook her head. "Nothing important. I have to be at work by 4! Damn it!" Her hand flew to her mouth and she blushed, "Uh, sorry."  
  
Jarod chuckled. "It's alright. I'm about to leave myself, would you like a ride?"  
  
Buffy shook her head. "No it's okay. I have someone waiting for me. I'm sorry I had to cut this short."  
  
"Its okay." Jarod insisted. "We can discuss more of this later."  
  
Buffy nodded and headed for the door. She paused and turned back, "Hey, I know you're new around here Professor Taylor.. so.. be careful when you go out at night. Things happen around here."  
  
As she left, Jarod wondered what exactly she meant by that. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed, it had barely rung when he was greeted.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Hello to you to Miss Parker." Jarod smirked into the phone, "So did you-"  
  
"Jarod.. whatever you have to say has to wait. I have something you need to know."  
  
Jarod's brow creased with worry, whatever it was, to have Parker tell him willingly it must be bad. "What is it?"  
  
There was silence on the other line before she spoke, "Jarod.. you're a father."  
  
The phone hit the floor with a clatter. 


	2. Chapter 1

TITLE: Summer Daze  
  
AUTHOR: Silence  
  
DISCLAIMER: Joss, Fox, UPN and whoever, own all things Buffy. TNT and them own The Pretender. *Sigh* I wish I did, but I don't. Everyone else is owned by the rightful owners and what not. Kay?  
  
_____________  
  
PART 1  
  
7:06 PM June 7 The Magic Box Sunnydale, CA  
  
Alexander Harris, Xander to everyone, sat in The Magic Box flipping through a book. "Do you actually sell these?"  
  
The new proprietor of the shop stood up from behind the counter. He was a Japanese boy, no older then 20, with his hair pulled into a small braid at the back of his neck. He shrugged. "Not really, but even if the language wasn't a turn off, the price would be."  
  
Xander nodded absently as he continued to look at the tome. "Uh huh."  
  
"It's $346. So if you do anything to it, you buy it."  
  
Xander snapped the book shut and pushed it across the table from him. "Well I'm done. How are you doing on business anyway, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma shrugged again. "Nothing new. Just the same regulars and every once in awhile a vampire." He hopped over the counter and joined Xander at the table. "My best sellers lately are the one of a kind items I'm stocking up on now."  
  
Xander's eyes filled with curiosity. "One of a kind?"  
  
"Yeah. I've seen a lot of things traveling, so I know a lot about specialty stuff." Ranma told him. "I order them under that Giles' guy's name and have them shipped over."  
  
"Oh." Xander frowned. "Why not use your own name?"  
  
"Are you kidding me?" Ranma's eyes grew wide with panic, "If I did that, everyone would know where to find me! No way. I'm not going through that again. I left that all behind. I'll take a hellmouth over crazy tomboys anyday!"  
  
The bell on the door jingled as Buffy walked in, her Doublemeat Palace uniform slightly singed and smelling of smoke. "Hey guys. Uh.. no leftovers for you."  
  
Xander jumped to his feet and rushed over to her, "What happened? Are you okay? Why are you off early? What's wrong?"  
  
"Long story, I'm fine, it deals with the long story, and I'm out of a job." Buffy answered as he led her to a seat.  
  
Ranma slid Xander's can of soda over to her, "Do we get to hear the story?"  
  
Buffy took a sip and nodded. "I was at work-"  
  
"We can tell from the smell." Ranma pointed out.  
  
Buffy glared at him but continued. "And everything was fine. But then Chloe started a grease fire and Rick tried to put it out, only he threw god knows what onto it, and it just got bigger. So I rushed everyone outside and tried to put it out myself, but the fire extinguisher ended up empty and then something blew up in the kitchen and I barely hit the floor before something almost took my head off."  
  
The two men stared at her in shock as she went on.  
  
"I managed to get out and then the place just.." She made a gesture with her hands, "Whoosh! It was like a roman candle the way it lit up!" She sighed. "So now I'm out of a job."  
  
"What are you going to do?" Xander asked her, "I know your dad's paying for school, but what about the house?"  
  
"I'll just find another job." Buffy sighed again. "I'll figure something out."  
  
Ranma glanced around the building and shrugged, "You could always work for me. It's not like I know what I'm doing. I just needed a place to stay."  
  
Buffy frowned, "I don't know.. I tried it. Me and retail do not mix."  
  
"No, you and the Groundhog Day syndrome don't mix." Xander corrected with a smirk. "That and cars, mummy hands, scented candles, beer.." He shut up as Buffy threw her Doublemeat Palace hat at his face. "Hey!"  
  
"We get the picture." Buffy stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"What's wrong with Buffy and scented candles?" Ranma asked curiously.  
  
____________  
  
Jarod sat quietly, his mind reeling at the news. He was in a simple desk chair in the small apartment he was calling 'home'. The lights were off, and the only illumination was the screen of his computer reflecting off his still face.  
  
**I'm a father,** he thought. **Damn them. First my life.. now this?** He stood up, and knocked the chair over in anger. "Damn them!"  
  
He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes as he tried to calm down. "Focus. I need focus." He uttered under his breath. Jarod opened his eyes and picked the chair off the floor and placed it back in front of the desk. He sat back down and stared at the screen.  
  
He clicked a few keys and quickly learned he had mail. As it loaded, Jarod's mind wandered. **I don't even know if it's a boy or a girl.. or who the mother is. What's their life been like?**  
  
His thoughts were interrupted as a picture appeared on screen. It was a photo of the cover of a Sunnydale High yearbook. Scrawled in white in the bottom corner was '1999'.  
  
"Thank you Angelo." Jarod murmured and set to work.  
  
_____________  
  
9:07 AM June 8 The streets of Sunnydale, CA  
  
"So I will walk.. through the fire.." Buffy sang softly as she walked around town. She shook her head. "What the hell? Bad Buffy! No singing!" She smiled to herself. "At least it was catchy."  
  
She turned a corner towards the street that housed the Expresso Pump and ran straight into one Jarod Taylor.  
  
"Son of-" Buffy swore as she grimaced. "I'm sooo sorry Professor Taylor!"  
  
Jarod brushed himself off and gave her a somewhat weak smile. "It's alright." He glanced at her, "You seem to be in a rush."  
  
Buffy nodded. "Heh.. Job hunting."  
  
He frowned, "I thought you had a job."  
  
"I did." Buffy sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "But it kind of blew up last night."  
  
"It blew up?" Jarod's filled with shock. "What happened?"  
  
Buffy looked down, "Grease fire, chain reaction. Completely inconceivable in a normal place, but this is Sunnydale." She shrugged and looked up at him, "So now I need a job. I have bills to pay, a mortgage and god knows what else."  
  
"A mortgage?" Jarod asked her, "Aren't you a bit young to have that?"  
  
She shook her head. "Long story.. Anyway, I have to get going." She pointed towards the Expresso Pump, "Job hunting waits for no girl."  
  
Jarod frowned as she walked by him and he turned and grabbed her arm. "I could use an assistant."  
  
The blonde stopped and turned back, "Huh?"  
  
"I'm trying to track down some possible family here in town." He paused, "With classes and my other.. research, I'm not sure I'll be able to finish anything on time. I could use some help."  
  
Buffy looked at him curiously, her interest peaked, "How much?"  
  
"Double minimum wage?"  
  
Buffy's eyes widened, and slight alarm bells went off in her head. **This is too easy. Something is definitely not right.** She nodded. "Deal. What do you need done?"  
  
____________  
  
Buffy soon found out what her new job was. Getting info on the entire class of 1999 of good old Sunnydale High. She lay stretched out on her bed, flipping through files as best she could on Willow's laptop.  
  
"Buff?"  
  
"Hey Xand." She replied as she worked. "Let yourself in again?"  
  
Xander nodded from the door, "Yeah." He sat himself down next to her on the bed. "Quiet here."  
  
"Lonely too." Buffy added. "I miss them."  
  
"Me too."  
  
The two sat in silence, the sound of Buffy clicking the keys echoing off the walls.  
  
"So.." Xander began, "What are you up to? I thought you were job hunting today."  
  
She nodded, "I was. Professor Taylor hired me to do some personal research for him."  
  
"Your mythology professor?" He asked her.  
  
"Yeah." She pulled herself onto her knees and slid back into a sitting position so she was next to Xander. "He's paying double what the palace was, and all he wants is as much info as I can dig up on our graduating class." She waved to the computer, "I'm doing a lousy job though. Willow could do better."  
  
"Yeah.." Xander nodded slowly in agreement. "Why does he want info on us?"  
  
"He wants to find a lost family member. Or so he says. I asked him for more info, but all he really gave me was that the kid was adopted."  
  
"How are you going to get into those records?" Xander asked. "No offense Buff, but hacking isn't in your list of skills."  
  
With a sigh, Buffy nodded, "I know. But something told me I needed to do this. I'm not sure what it is, but I get that feeling we're going to be involved."  
  
"Slayer sense?"  
  
"Yeah." She reached over and pulled the laptop over to her. "I'm not sure how to go about doing this." She tapped the screen, "I did find out something though."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Half our class is all the way across country."  
  
Xander blinked, "What?"  
  
She grinned. "They bolted as far from here as they could get." She closed her eyes and leaned back. "Wish I could do that sometimes."  
  
"You mean 'we'." Xander corrected.  
  
"No. Me." She sat up again and poked him in the chest, "YOU can leave anytime you want."  
  
Xander shook his head. "And leave my Buffy? Can't do that. That'd be like cutting off an arm for no reason."  
  
She smiled at him, "You're stubborn."  
  
"Yeah well I got it from you." He flashed her a crooked grin.  
  
Buffy responded to that with a pillow to his face.  
  
___________  
  
While Buffy was busy bantering with Xander and trying to do her 'job', Jarod was following some leads of his own, about a certain set of scrolls.  
  
Jarod paused as he looked at the shop that stood before him. "The Magic Box." He muttered with a curious look. He shrugged and entered the shop, a bell jingling as he stepped through the door. He was greeted by a male voice.  
  
"Can I help you?" The boy was probably no older then Buffy. His voice had a strong japanese accent.  
  
Jarod nodded, "I hope so. I'm looking for something on Vespasians and prophetic scrolls."  
  
The boy blinked at him, his face blank. "Uh huh. Research stuff. Okay. Uh.." He pointed to the set of bookshelves across the room. "Um, might want to try there." He shrugged at Jarod's look. "Hey, I just sell the stuff."  
  
Jarod gave a slight inward sigh and headed for the books. As he skimmed the titles, he heard the bell jingle and a loud curse. He looked out of the corner of his eye to see a young man covered in a blanket at the door. With a strange sense of curiosity he listened as he began plucking a few books off the shelf.  
  
"What are you doing here?" The japanese boy spat out.  
  
"Looking for Buffy you bloody bastard." The new guy responded.  
  
The boy narrowed his eyes at the british blonde. "She's not here, Spike, now get the hell out before I make sure you're nothing but a memory."  
  
Spike glared at him, "You really are stupid aren't you, Ranma. You think you can take me? I'd like to see you bloody well try."  
  
Ranma got in a fighting stance, "Then I guess you'll get to see, you corpse."  
  
The blonde's eyes narrowed and he hissed. "I don't know what your problem is with me, but this isn't over you punk."  
  
Not moving, Ranma stared him down, "I know all about everything you did. Coward. Now leave before I make you. You aren't welcome here."  
  
With a growl Spike covered himself with the blanket again and practically ripped the door off its hinges as he exited.  
  
Ranma eased out of his stance and shook his head. "Baka."  
  
Jarod frowned at the scene as he sat down at the table with several books. He noticed Ranma staring at him, "I need to look through these before I can buy them."  
  
Ranma placed his hands behind his head and walked towards the counter, "Whatever. You break em, you buy em."  
  
As Jarod flipped through the books, he couldn't help but wonder what that whole scene was about. 


	3. Chapter 2

TITLE: Summer Daze  
  
AUTHOR: Silence  
  
DISCLAIMER: Joss, Fox, UPN and whoever, own all things Buffy. TNT and them own The Pretender. *Sigh* I wish I did, but I don't. Everyone else is owned by the rightful owners and what not. Kay?  
  
NOTES: First of all, I've had this written out to part 4 (and half of part 5) since like mid summer, posting what I have here, is kind of a hope to get me working on it again. (And yeah, it's working. Kind of. Slowly. Lol)  
  
For anyone who needs/wants to know about Ranma here's a couple of sites:  
  
http://www.furinkan.com/  
  
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/3433/Ranma/ranma.htm  
  
http://www.wot-club.org.uk/RanmaFAQ/  
  
__________  
  
PART 2  
  
Later that afternoon, Jarod was still looking through books in the shop. Strangely enough Ranma hadn't bothered him once to insist he buy something or get out.  
  
Jarod glanced up to see Ranma sitting behind the counter, arms behind his head, feet propped on the counter, and snoring blissfully. The pretender arched an eyebrow at that and the entrance opened again.  
  
"Hey, Ranma, wake up, I have brought nourishment from beyond."  
  
Ranma's eyes opened and he stared at Xander who was heading towards him, a wicker basket in tow, "A picnic? Gee thanks."  
  
Xander smirked as he pulled out a container and placed it on the counter. "You aren't going on the picnic. I'm just dropping something off for you."  
  
Ranma narrowed his eyes and snatched the basket with lightning speed. He started looking through it, "Uh huh. All this.. man either you eat like dad or you have a date."  
  
"Not a date." Xander said as he grabbed the basket back. "I've been helping Buffy stare at a computer all morning for some research she's doing and I thought she needed a break."  
  
Ranma burst out laughing. "Buffy? Research? That tomboy? She couldn't find her way into a library let alone find a way to turn on computer!"  
  
Xander glared at him. "Hey, I'll have you know we spent plenty of time in libraries."  
  
"Before or after you blew them up?"  
  
Xander cast a glance around the shop and noticed Jarod. He winced. "Ranma, will you keep it down?"  
  
"Why?" Ranma asked. "It's not like no one knows. You SAID the mayor turned into a giant snake. No one's going to deny that."  
  
"This is Sunnydale." Xander whispered. "Everyone lives in denial."  
  
Ranma snorted, "Just like home. What else is new." The phone chose that moment to ring so Ranma picked it up. "Magic Box."  
  
As Ranma was distracted by the phone, Xander wandered over to Jarod a look of concern on his face. He'd seen the books he was looking at and it didn't bode well for the young man. "Good reading?"  
  
Jarod stared at him and gave him a slight smile. "Research." He paused, "The two of you were talking about a Buffy. That wouldn't happen to be Buffy Summers would it?"  
  
Xander narrowed his eyes, "And you would be..?"  
  
Jarod held out his hand, "Professor Taylor."  
  
Xander's eyes widened in recognition and he took his hand. "Oh. Yeah! Nice to meet you." He motioned to the books, "So what are you looking for?"  
  
"Just some things that could be important to some people I know." Jarod replied.  
  
"Ah." Xander said with a nod. He felt strangely nervous around him and decided he'd better make a quick retreat. "Nice meeting you. I've got to pick up Buffy."  
  
Jarod nodded, "Nice to meet you too."  
  
As Xander walked away Ranma called out to him, "Hey, Harris, Spike's back in town."  
  
Jarod watched as Xander tensed up. "Keep him away from here, Ranma."  
  
Ranma nodded, "No problem. The last thing I need is the stench of death around my place."  
  
Jarod leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes in thought. **The mayor changed into a giant snake? What is wrong with this town?**  
  
______________  
  
1:15 PM June 8 The Centre Blue Cove, Delaware  
  
Miss Parker stood in Mr. Lyle's office her face cold and empty. "What do you want?"  
  
Lyle stood up from his desk, "We have a problem."  
  
"Did you eat someone who didn't agree with you?" Parker said snidely.  
  
"No." Lyle said, "Someone's been hacking into our files."  
  
Her eyebrow rose, "Really."  
  
"You wouldn't happen to have any idea who, would you.. sis?"  
  
"Not a clue." She replied.  
  
"I didn't think so." Lyle nodded to himself. "Raines is looking for a scapegoat. It's time to figure out where your loyalties are sis.  
  
Parker turned on her heel and spoke as she left, "Oh, I know exactly where my loyalties go."  
  
As she walked down the halls Sydney joined her, "We found something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You'd better see this."  
  
_____________  
  
"Oh my god." Miss Parker whispered as she watched the DSA.  
  
"Execution style." Broots said. "Just like.."  
  
"My mother." Parker said as she twisted the ring on her finger. "This is the kid's mother?"  
  
Sydney nodded. "Another unlucky victim of Raines."  
  
Parker shook her head as the DSA turned to static. "Did you find anything else?"  
  
Broots shook his head. "No more DSAs anyway." He pulled out a folder. "I did get this before I got caught." He started talking excitedly, "Apparently the kid didn't have the same gene as Jarod so they deemed it useless. They got rid of it."  
  
"Bastards." Parker murmured as she skimmed it.  
  
"That's not the best part." Broots said. "Well not that there's anything good about this, but anyway.. They didn't just get rid of it. They sent it to NuGenisis."  
  
"Someone adopted it." Sydney added, a wry smile on his face.  
  
"So this kid is still alive?" Parker asked. "Do we have any ideas who adopted it?"  
  
"I'm working on it." Broots said. His voice filled with nervousness, "But I think the Triumverate knows someone's digging."  
  
"They always know someone's digging, Broots." Parker snapped and slapped the folder against his chest hard. "The key is not getting caught." She glared at him. "Now keep digging. I want to know everything about this kid. Where it is, who it is and if it's a god damn transsexual. EVERYTHING."  
  
She stalked off with Broots trailing after her.  
  
Sydney sat down with a thoughtful look on his face. His cell phone rang and he instinctively knew who it was. He put it to his ear and answered, "Sydney."  
  
"Hello, Sydney."  
  
"Hello, Jarod."  
  
Jarod was silent a moment before he spoke, his voice clenched tight, "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
Sydney sighed inwardly, "I didn't know. Believe me, Jarod, if I had, I would have done something." He paused. "Have you found anything?"  
  
"I'm working on it."  
  
There was a strained uncomfortable silence.  
  
"How are you doing, Jarod?"  
  
"How do you think I'm doing?" His voice was filled with pain, "I'm a father. I've never met my child, I don't even know what they're like. I missed out on 20 years of their life. How the hell am I supposed to feel?"  
  
Sydney let him rant, after all he knew exactly how Jarod felt.  
  
Jarod let out a tired sigh, "I'm sorry. It's... now... I know what you went through."  
  
The phone clicked off. And Sydney was left with a feeling of pain for his protégé.  
  
______________  
  
Meanwhile in Sunnydale, Buffy and Xander were sitting under a tree in her backyard. A blanket was spread out beneath them, various kinds of food scattered around them.  
  
"Do you think we'll have to slay any ants?" Xander asked her.  
  
Buffy frowned in concentration as she poked at the ground with a toothpick. She barely looked up. "Huh?"  
  
Xander watched her curiously and formed a smile. "Nevermind. I see you're already hard at work."  
  
"Work." Buffy mumbled. "Mhm. That's me. Worker girl Buffy. Gotta keep busy or the quiet gets too loud." She stopped her slayage of the picnic vampires and stretched before leaning against the tree.  
  
"Loud quiet. Nope. We can't have that." Xander said. He watched her face as she closed her eyes. "Did you find anything while I was gone?"  
  
Buffy sighed. "Not really. I have no clue what I'm doing." She opened her eyes again, "But right now I don't care. Can we just enjoy the day?"  
  
Xander grinned at her, "Well I have a few ideas-"  
  
Buffy chuckled, "PG rated ideas, Xand."  
  
"Damn, there goes that."  
  
She let out a laugh and smiled, "Don't get cute on me Xander."  
  
"Too late." Xander's grin grew wider, "I'm as cute as they come, Miss Summers."  
  
"Thank you, Xand." Buffy said suddenly.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For being here." She said softly. She reached over and hugged him tightly. "I don't say it enough.. Thank you."  
  
Xander returned her hug. "You're welcome."  
  
___________  
  
Ranma yawned as he picked at his lunch. It was good, Xander wasn't the worst cook by far, Akane had that title. But Ranma couldn't help but miss Kasumi's cooking sometimes. So intent on wishing for her cooking, he didn't notice the bell as a young woman entered the store.  
  
She was pretty, with longish chestnut hair. She wore a simple pair of jeans and a peasant blouse. A pair of Oakleys sat on her head and she walked over to the counter with a determined look, her small black leather bag swinging at her side. The young woman reached the counter and Ranma barely registered her presence as he ate.  
  
She drummed her fingers on the counter waiting. Still nothing. Finally she made a grab at his food and his hand shot out and smacked her hand away. She glared at Ranma. "You psycho!"  
  
Ranma blinked at her, "Jen. What do YOU want, you crazy tomboy?"  
  
Jen rolled her eyes, "Moron, you called me this morning. My Dagger of Ceres is in. Remember?" She tapped him on the head, "Or did that tiny brain of yours finally dissolve into a pile of goo?"  
  
"Whatever." He shrugged, "I'll go get it."  
  
"You do that." Jen ordered. As he left, she looked around and noticed Jarod at the table. She walked over and started looking over his shoulder. "Those books are in Sumerian."  
  
Jarod looked up to see a girl around Buffy's age hovering beside him. "I know that."  
  
She tapped the cover of another tome. "And this is Babylonian. Pretty harsh reading. You sure you can understand it?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, I can." Jarod gave her a curious look, "Can you?"  
  
With a shrug, Jen replied, "I'm only the best dressed, most knowledgeable, and IN CONTROL, wicca in all of Sunnydale."  
  
"Wicca?" Jarod asked, "You mean the pagan religion?"  
  
"Something like that." Jen tossed her hair over a shoulder and picked up one of his books and began flipping through it. "Hey, Ranma told me he didn't have this book in stock. Why that little son of a-"  
  
"Stop hassling my customers you psycho witch." Ranma called out as he headed for the counter.  
  
Jen suck her tongue out at him, "I can hassle who I want." She tossed the book back at Jarod's table and walked over to Ranma, "I'm your best customer."  
  
Ranma handed her the dagger as he began hitting buttons on the cash register, "You realize this is $500."  
  
"What's your point, oh mighty half a man?"  
  
"I had that fixed." Ranma growled at her, "So how do you afford it?"  
  
Jen rolled her eyes, "I sell term papers on campus." She handed him a credit card, "Does it matter how I afford it? You aren't my mother." She glanced once more at Jarod as Ranma worked, "Now HE, is a hottie."  
  
"Oh wonderful, now you not only hassle my customers, you drool over them." Ranma muttered and handed her the credit card and dagger.  
  
Jen slipped the card into her bag along with the dagger. "Are you sure that's not your own drool, Saotome?"  
  
"Over you?" Ranma snorted, "You wish."  
  
"I never implied who you were drooling for." Jen said as she walked away, "Ciao girlfriend."  
  
Ranma frowned, "What the heck was that supposed to mean?!" 


End file.
